Player's Guide
Introduction The Fourth Age is filled with mysticism, tall tales, and traditional stories of how the world came to be as it was. Some say the gods warred for generations, using the world as their battleground. Others claimed that people began dying off from rare and incurable disease. More suggest that it was creatures and humanoids that did this to themselves- one great war after another, each civilization taking turns burning down another’s cities and erasing them from the landscape and history of the world. Now the unmarked lands are traversed by dozens of nomadic tribes. With no proper maps or ways to investigate the old world, they had to make their own land markers instead. Dangerous threats to life lurk across every valley and peak, lives constantly being lost, the Uninitiated, the ones who wander too far from the tribe. To establish a settlement or to create a home would require a properly reinforced peace that just doesn’t exist yet. Several generations later, nomads have decided that constant transition is the best and most effective method to stay alive. The earth replenishes itself, never running out of supply. The animals fertilize the ground, rejuvenate the trees, and the adventurous spirit contained in every creature of the world is easily satisfied. The tribe you join is known as “The Order”, and is one of the more established and strengthened tribes. Though all tribes have their troubles, The Order has slowly crept from out of the misery and disdain of the past dark ages. They have began to record their own tribal history, began rather powerful and strong innovations in magical uses with the mundane, and may sometimes stay in one place for more than only a few days. As an Uninitiated, you are a mere peg in the great four wheels that moves “The Order” from one location to the next. Forever at the service of The Champions of the Order and their sound council, you aspire to be more than a mere Uninitiated. You are to become Blooded, officially giving you rite of passage to work with The Order with more freedoms inside the tribe. However, this comes at a high price known to all of The Order as “The Hunt.” The Hunt is always changing, intangible, and to the unprepared Uninitiated- extremely deadly. History of “The Order” The Order was started by a well-rounded Cavalier known now to the tribe as “The Great Champion of the Order, Ozai Hughes.” Through the powers and secrets of the ancestors, during great times of turmoil, Great Champion Ozai boosted the powers of other wanderers he met along the way. Eventually many decided to sit and stay with him- they were curious on the powers of this “cavalier” and how he had survived travelling alone for so long. It was then that Great Champion Ozai taught five of those who travelled with him five orders. Those five students took and mastered each of the five philosophies contained within the orders, and as they developed, more came to learn from each of the five. When each of the five obtained a power near the Great Champion Ozai’s, he proclaimed them Champions of their respective Orders. The Council of Champions was formed, and “The Order” was made as a formal tribe to travel the world as one great force. Not long after “The Order” was made, and Great Champion Ozai named the other Champions of the Order, he had met a perfect and fitting end for his courageous and helpful spirit. Great Champion Ozai led “The Order” through a dangerous peril of mountain peaks, hoping to find a proper and rare metal to make himself a new blade. Instead the Tribe came across a Thunderous Behemoth. Great Champion Ozai held the Behemoth off on his own, showing each of his five students proper and accurate mastery of the ancestors through the use of echoes. The Thunderous Behemoth struck Great Champion Ozai down in a mere eighteen seconds as the Great Champion wielded an ethereal cloak of echoes about his body. He moved as if simply training against the wind, fearless against the assailant who had the potential to eradicate The Order in a single hour. As his body fell, the ancestors raised it back up, wrapped around his sword like a mighty chain, and plunged him through the air and the Thunderous Behemoth. Both were dead in a fight of nearly 30 seconds, with all the remaining Champions of the Order as witnesses to the feat. Guilds of the Order There are 5 Guilds that remain as a structure of The Order, and testament to the strength and philosophy of Great Champion Ozai. These Orders are of The Dragon, The Land, The Winds, The Blue Rose, and The Tome. When an Uninitiated wishes to be Blooded, they must choose one of these Oaths and factions to be sworn in under should they return from The Hunt. Order of the Dragon Champion of the Dragon: Captain of the Dragon: Redellion “I swear my Oath to the Order, and the protection of its bonds. As the sap of a tree, I am its lifeblood. Through honor, loyalty, and friendship, I selflessly swear to protect all marked as a member of the Order.” Order of the Land Champion of the Land: Horus Captain of the Land: Terrance “I swear my Oath to the Order, and the preservation of its survival. As the leaves of a great oak, I will gather our energy, supplies, and life to maintain us. Through independence, self-reliance, and sovereignty, I swear under my own interest to serve the Tribe and Myself as one entity.” Order of the Tome '''Champion of the Tome: Tess Captain of the Tome: Riaris “I swear my Oath to the Order through the pursuit of power and knowledge. Like the many branches of a forest, my mind will further advance this Tribe through discovery and daring experimentation. Through knowledge, power, and the pursuit of the limitless, I swear in the pursuit of science to advance the Order.” '''Order of the Blue Rose Champion of the Blue Rose: Captain of the Rose: Baiki “I swear my Oath to the Order through the power of life. Like the roots of a great oak, I will keep us grounded in place, so that no matter our growth, we only ever reach for the Sun. Through cleansing, curing, and healing, I swear in the spirit of recovery to the Order.” Order of the Wind Champion of the Wind: Oroboro Captain of the Wind: Beast “I swear my Oath to the Order, and to the Free Spirit of all things. Like the winds that carry pollen and the life of all creation, I am the very breath of life. No matter my independence, I will serve the needs of the Tribe in all manners, for the wind touches all it passes. I swear to be the wind of the Order.” Mysticism of the World In the Fourth Age, the primary gods, from Abadar and Asmodeus to Zon-Kuthon and Zyphus, are mere shadows of what they may have been before the Apocalypse. They are now described by many to rest among the stars, always watching, but forever distant from the world. Instead, the demigods have been raised up in power as patrons of families and tribes alike. Worship of three or even four different demigods in a single household is not unheard of. As a result, those that derive their power from these demigods (Clerics, Inquisitors, Paladins, Warpriests) find themselves in a more liberal and exploratory world of domain choices and favored weapons. The nature of one Empyreal Lord may grant you the Knowledge Domain and a scythe as the favored weapon, while another grants Glory and a longsword. Category:Player's Guide